prosecuted by the State in accordance with Section 76(4) × 76 Attorney-General (4) The Attorney-General shall have power in any case in which he considers it desirable so to do (a) to institute and undertake criminal proceedings before any court, not being a court established by a disciplinary law, and to prosecute or defend an appeal from any determination in such proceedings; (b) to take over and continue criminal proceedings that have been instituted by any other person or authority before any court, not being a court established by a disciplinary law, and to prosecute or defend an appeal from any determination in proceedings so taken over by him; and (c) to discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered any criminal proceedings he has instituted under paragraph (a) or taken over under paragraph (b) or any appeal prosecuted or defended by him from any determination in such proceedings. (4a) The Attorney-General may require the Commissioner of Police to investigate and report to him on any matter which, in the Attorney-General's opinion, relates to any criminal offence or alleged or suspected criminal offence, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with that requirement. [Subsection as inserted by section 12 of Act 4 of 1989 - Amendment No. 8] of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. African Commission's decision on admissibility 63. The Complainant in this communication states that during the period in question, the criminal acts that were committed ranged from assault, arson, theft, torture, kidnap, torture, murder etc and these acts were directed towards persons perceived to be or known as supporters of the opposition and as such were politically motivated. 64. The African Commission holds the view that by pardoning "every person liable for any politically motivated crime ..." the Clemency Order had effectively foreclosed the Complainant or any other person from bringing criminal action against persons who could have committed the acts of violence during the period in question and upon which this communication is based. By so doing, the Complainant had been denied access to local remedies by virtue of the Clemency Order3 65. Exhaustion of local remedies does not mean that the Complainants are required to exhaust any local remedy, which may be impractical or even unrealistic. Ability to choose which course of action to pursue when wronged is essential and clearly in the instant communication the one course of action that was practical and therefore realistic for the victims to pursue - that of criminal action was foreclosed as a result of the Clemency Order. 66. The Respondent State also submitted that the Complainant failed to exhaust domestic remedies when they did not challenge the legality of the President's prerogative to issue a Clemency Order. 67. The African Commission is of the view that asking the Complainant to challenge the legality of the Clemency Order in the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe would require the Complainant to engage in an exercise that would not bring immediate relief to the victims of the violations. The African Commission is aware that the situation prevailing in Zimbabwe at the time in question was perilous and therefore required the State machinery to act fast and firmly in cases such as this in order to restore the rule of law. To therefore ask victims in this matter to bring a constitutional matter before being able to approach the domestic courts to obtain relief for criminal acts committed against them would certainly result into going through an unduly prolonged procedure in order to obtain a remedy, an exception that falls within the meaning of Article 56(5) of the African Charter. 68. It is argued by the Respondent State that before bringing this matter to the African Commission, the Complainant could have utilised the available domestic remedies by requesting the Attorney General to invoke his powers under Article 76(4a) × 76 Attorney-General (4a) The Attorney-General may require the Commissioner of Police to investigate and report to him on any matter which, in the Attorney-General's opinion, relates to any criminal offence or alleged or suspected 7